Fespaco Crowns Somali Film with Top Prize
A Somali film exploring what people will do for love has won the grand prize at the prestigious Pan-African film festival in Burkina Faso. The Gravedigger’s Wife, written and directed by Finish-Somali director Khadar Ahmed, beat off competition at Fespaco from 16 other movies. It focuses on Guled, whose job it is to wait outside […]
Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Establishes Itself as One of Africa’s “Big Four”
That is according to the newly released ‘Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021’ from Disrupt Africa, which dives into the local ecosystem by analysing active startups, local support networks, and funding and exit activity over the last seven years. Since launching its research arm in 2016, Disrupt Africa has built up a significant portfolio of publications, […]
No Room to Talk for Africa’s Last Absolute Monarch
Eswatini’s political and civil society opposition has firmly rejected King Mswati’s offer — which followed his meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s special envoy on Thursday — to hold a national dialogue to discuss the troubled country’s political future. Eswatini’s main political party, the banned Pudemo, vowed this weekend to continue with protests and strikes to […]
Uganda Overtook Vietnam to Become the Second Largest Supplier of Coffee to Italy
Demand for Ugandan coffee in Italy, where espresso lovers abound, has helped increase the East African country’s exports of the beans to the highest in at least 30 years. Total shipments jumped 21% to 6.5million 60kg bags in the year through September — Uganda’s highest in three decades — about a third of that going […]
What has France Achieved after Eight Years in Mali?
France has begun withdrawing its troops from northern Mali as part of plans to reorganise its anti-insurgent forces deployed in the Sahel region under Operation Barkhane. French army bases in Kidal, Tessalit and Timbuktu will be closed by the end of the year and handed over to the Malian army. Air support will be maintained. […]
The Ordinary Women Championing Breast Cancer Awareness in Yaoundé
Health care activists in Cameroon are visiting homes, markets and farms this month, encouraging women to get free screenings for breast cancer. The central African state says the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer has risen sharply over the past year because many women delayed screenings for fear of COVID-19 infections. The push to […]
Fewer Animals are Migrating across the Mara
Wildlife in Tanzania and Kenya is under threat due to climate change, according to a local conservationist group that observes the migration of wild animals. The Mara Predator Conservation Project noticed that just a small fraction of animals came to the Mara, in the south of Kenya. Because of climate change, rainfalls have been less […]
How Facebook in Ethiopia Became a Place to Fuel Violence
Facebook employees repeatedly sounded the alarm on the company’s failure to curb the spread of posts inciting violence in “at risk” countries like Ethiopia, where a civil war has raged for the past year, internal documents seen by CNN show. The social media giant ranks Ethiopia in its highest priority tier for countries at risk […]
Khartoum Under Military Rule
Sudan’s military has seized power in a coup, arrested leading civilian politicians including the prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, and declared a state of emergency as thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Khartoum in opposition. The Sudan Doctors’ Committee said late on Monday that three protesters had been killed and 80 people wounded after security […]
Nigeria Becomes First African State to Introduce a Digital Currency
The Central Bank of Nigeria has joined a growing list of emerging markets betting on digital money, said President Muhammadu Buhari in televised speech at the launch. “The adoption of the central bank digital currency and its underlying technology, called blockchain, can increase Nigeria’s gross domestic product by $29 billion over the next 10 years. […]
